Game of Hearts & Darkness
by Lollipop456
Summary: Revamp of A Clown and A Detective. WARNING: Possible Mary-Sue. Detective Stephens begins to develop feelings for his new partner, Helen. However, when one becomes the target of the Joker. This blooming romance may take a deadly turn. Stephens/OC/Joker.
1. Chapter 1

Detective Gerard Stephens stood at the refreshment table, watching while others danced and talked to one another. Every year, he had been talked into attending the annual ball held for Gotham's police force. He was far more happier to be at the station, than to be watching couples dance.

"I take it you don't like the music either."

Gerard saw a woman, with red hair and wearing a silver evening gown, approaching him with two glasses of champagne.

"The music I can handle. I just never understand why we have to have this thing every single year."

"We have a tough job. It's good to unwind." The woman handed one of the glasses to Gerard.

"We?" Gerard repeated.

"Helen Coleman. Just started working at the station a week ago. I'm surprised I was invited at all."

Gerard shook Helen's hand. "Gerard Stephens. Detective."

"A pleasure." Helen sipped her champagne and turned her attention towards the crowd. "You sure have friendly faces here, detective. "

"A week's not enough time to see what Gotham's really like."

"What do you mean?" Helen asked.

Gerard shook his head slightly. "Nothing. Anyway, how come I've not met you yet?"

"Well, Commissoner Gordon wanted it to be a surprise."

"A surprise?"

"You see, I'm your new partner."

Helen clinked her glass against Gerard's, and walked away. While Gerard could only stand in his spot, in a state of shock.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Gerard arrived at the station and found Helen cleaning off her desk, obviously preparing for work. He brushed past her, and went to Comissioner James "Jim" Gordon's office, closing the door behind him.

"I don't need a partner, Jim." Gerard made certain his voice was kept low so Helen couldn't hear him.

"It's not my call, Gerard. It's Mayor Garcia's."

"Garcia? What say does he have in what we do?" Gerard took a seat, eager to listen to what James had to say.

"Two weeks ago, he made this speech about how we're doubling our efforts to protect the streets from scum like the Joker."

"We are. We've got everyone putting in extra hours, cars patrolling the streets at two in the morning, eyes and ears all over the place..."

James nodded. "I know we do, but Garcia caught wind that some of us were flying solo. He flipped and ordered that I'd partner everyone up as another percaution, or I'd kiss my position and badge goodbye."

Gerard sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay, I understand. So, is this a temporary deal?"

"For a couple of months, maybe three. This paranoia over The Joker is going to take awhile to go away."

Gerard stood to his feet. "I'm gonna go and see if Coleman needs any help."

As Gerard left the office, James smiled; now fully confident that Helen and Gerard would make an excellent team.

Gerard approached Helen, who was still cleaning her desk. Once she was finished, she turned to him and laid a hand on her hip.

"So, I take it that you're not happy with this idea either." Helen said.

Gerard arched his eyebrow, wondering if his new partner had some pyschic ability that he didn't know about.

"I've had to work with partners before, and I know it's not a day at the beach. You're gonna be a pain in my ass, and I'm gonna be a pain in yours, but one thing's for certain."

"What's that?" Gerard folded his arms.

"I know I've not been in Gotham long, not even two weeks, but I've already begun to care about all the innocents in this city, and I'm gonna make sure they're protected. If that requires having a different shadow for awhile, then I can handle it." Helen extended her hand to Gerard. "Partners?"

Gerard couldn't help but smile. Here he was worrying about babysitting the new kid, but now he knew that she had the spirit of a true cop.

"Partners." Gerard shook Helen's hand.


	3. Chapter 3

A week went by, and Gerard and Helen began to adjust to their partnership, although they had constant arguments, but mainly about little things that didn't matter. One morning, they were both surprised when they were called to James' office. When they entered, Helen shut the door behind them.

"What's this about?" Gerard asked.

"According to a tip, there's going to be a drug exchange tonight at the docks. I need you both to stakeout and see if it's legit. Any action, you move in, got it?" James explained.

Helen folded her arms. "The docks? I take it were not talking small potatoes."

"Hardly. The tipper said that a ship will come in, carrying ten to twenty crates containing cocaine."

"We're on it." Gerard said.

That night, Gerard and Helen went down to the docks. They hid in one of the warehouses, where they could get a good view at the ships that came in. After a few minutes, the two sat on the floor of the vacant warehouse. They both knew they were probably in for a long night, and so they brought a thermos of hot coffee, along with two mugs, two blankets (as a temperature drop was expected), and their walkie-talkies to keep in contact with the station.

Thirty minutes passed, and while two or three boats had docked, none of them seemed to contain drugs and there was no sign of suspcious characters either.

"Need a refill?" Gerard asked, holding up the thermos.

"Yes, please." Helen offered her mug to Gerard and he poured some coffee into it. "Seems pretty quiet."

"So far. I've been with the force for twenty-one-years, and I still haven't met a criminal who deals while all the lights are on."

"So, we could be here all night." Helen said.

Gerard nodded. "Never staked out before?" He downed the rest of his coffee.

"A few times, actually. Though I can safely say this is the first one in an empty warehouse."

There was a few moments of silence, neither one knew what to say. Gerard cleared his throat and used his binoculars to get a look at the docks again.

"Anything?"

Gerard lowered the bincoluars. "Not yet."

Again, silence. Helen hated how quiet it was, and so she decided to speak.

"Were you raised in Gotham?" Helen asked.

Gerard turned to her, slightly puzzled. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you were raised in Gotham."

"What kind of question is that?" Gerard asked.

Helen shrugged her shoulders. "Well, we've been partners for a week now. I think we should at least be able to figure out a little about each other."

Gerard sighed. "Yeah, I was raised in Gotham. My Mom died when I was two, and so my dad took care of me. He was a detective, and took me down to the station whenever he had the chance."

"So, it's in your blood then?"

"Yes. By the time that my Father retired, Gotham became nothing but an underworld of criminals. I was old enough to take his place, and destroy the bastards that made my home the way it was."

Lowering his head for a moment, Gerard turned to Helen. "What about you?"

"Not much to tell. I was born in Midway and raised by my parents, had a few good friends, and made decent grades at school." Helen chuckled slightly. "It seems dull, doesn't it?"

Gerard shook his head. "Not at all. But, I've gotta ask you: Why did you become a cop?"

Helen seemed a little hesistant to answer; before she could, there was a noise outside. Gerard quickly lifted his binoculars and saw two men, standing and talking. They were constantly looking over their shoulders, and seemed pretty afraid of something.

"Coleman?" Gerard whispered.

"What is it?" Helen whispered back.

"I think we might have trouble."


	4. Chapter 4

Helen stood and took the binoculars from Gerard. It didn't take long for her to spot the two men that Gerard had seen.

"They're waiting for something. One of them keeps shifting his gaze. We should move in." Helen said.

Gerard nodded as he and Helen made their way outside. They made certain to keep in the shadows and hid behind large crates. Once they were safely out of sight, they waited a for a few moments before a large ship pulled in.

"Is this it?" One of the men asked.

"Hold your horses, 'kay? Come and give me a hand."

Gerard and Helen watched as the two men climbed onto the ship and began to help the small crew unloaded some crates. One of the men climbed off the ship and pried open one of the crates, and sure enough there was packets of cocaine.

"Block them, and I'll draw. They try to run-"

"Pull it out." Helen finished Gerard's sentence.

Gerard smiled and nodded in agreement, and Helen sneaked off. Giving a long exhale, Gerard jumped out from his hiding place and pulled out his gun.

"Gotham Police!" Gerard yelled.

The two men panicked and try to run; only to be blocked by Helen who pulled out her gun as well.

"Nowhere to run, fellas." Helen said.

One of the men whipped out a gun and began to shoot at Helen. Acting quickly, Gerard shot the shooter in the shoulder, wounding him.

"Let's get out of here, man!" The other man said.

The two men ran off, with the wounded man still clutching at his shoulder. Gerard ran over to Helen and helped her off the ground.

"You okay, Coleman?" Gerard asked.

"I'm fine. Dammit, I thought it would go smoother." Helen said.

"One thing that you've gotta learn about Gotham: They always run."

"I'll check the crate, you hold the crew."

Gerard gave Helen a small salute and went aboard the ship, while she checked the crate of cocaine.

"Don't see any-" Helen cut herself off when she spotted a piece of paper pinned to the crate.

"What is it, Helen?" Gerard shouted from the ship.

"A note."

"From who?" Gerard asked.

_Welcome to Gotham! I just knew they'd bring a rookie along." - The Joker_

"It's from The Joker." Helen shouted back, her eyes still fixated on the note.


	5. Chapter 5

Sitting in James' office, Gerard and Helen told him about the note they found. Although Gerard and James kept going on about how The Joker was possibly linked to drug trafficking, Helen seemed distracted, her gaze never leaving the note.

"It just doesn't seem like him. Compared to what else he's done, even drug trafficking seems too simple." Gerard said.

"He's probably trying to get into our heads. We've just gotta teach him whose in charge." James said.

"I know one thing, when we catch him again, he's going behind bars for good. I'll be damned if ends up in Arkham."

Gerard turned on his heel and left the office with Helen. After his anger wore off, Gerard finally took notice of Helen's distracted behavior.

"Awfully quiet, weren't you?"

Helen shrugged. "I didn't know what to say. I just never thought..."

"Never thought what?"

Helen managed a small smile. "It's nothing. We should get back to our beat."

"One of the first rules of partnership, Coleman: No secrets."

Helen finally nodded and gave a deep sigh. "I knew The Joker. Not personally, of course, but he committed several crimes in Midway. Arsenic, murder, theft, bombings. Then one day he just disappeared. I was so mad that we didn't catch him. Now, to know that he's here in Gotham and still doing these terrible things. It just makes me think about how he got away before, and how I want to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Gerard laid a hand on Helen's shoulder. "It won't. I'm gonna make damn sure of that."

Helen looked up at Gerard. "I know it's always nice to be confident, Stephens, but...The Joker is slippery. He won't be easy to catch."

"I know. That's why I have you to help me."


	6. Chapter 6

Long after a majority of the police officers had left to go home, Gerard and Helen stayed behind. Helen began research on her computer, while Gerard went through the Joker's file.

"Stephens! I may have something!" Helen shouted from her desk.

Gerard walked over to Helen and leaned forward to get a look at her computer screen. What he saw confused him.

"Ivy Town General?"

"It doesn't say much, but get this. I made some calls, and a doctor on staff at Ivy recalled a young teenager, no more than sixteen, coming into the hospital with two slits on each side of his mouth."

"The scars."

"My thoughts exactly. Now, here's the problem: Ivy Town is located near New York."

Gerard ran his fingers through his hair. "We can't just ask Jim for a vacation. If he figures out we're trying to track The Joker, he'll pull us from the force."

Helen shrugged. "No one says that Gordon has to know. We don't have shifts on the weekend, remember? Two days is enough time to leave for Ivy Town and return before we have to go back to work."

"It's risky. We might get called in to take over for someone." Gerard warned.

"I wouldn't have chosen this line-of-work if I didn't know that there was risks."

On Saturday morning, Helen and Gerard headed to Ivy Town. For being located near New York, it sure wasn't a large city. This did make the hospital easier to locate, and when they arrived, they went to the emergency room.

It was nothing like the emergency room at the hospital in Gotham. There was people with cuts and bruises, and possibly broken bones. What Gerard had seen in the local emergency room was far worse. A friendly-looking nurse with a smile on her face and freckles on her nose, approached the two cops.

"Good afternoon. I trust since you are here, you are having some sort of medical trouble." The nurse said.

Gerard took his badge from his pocket and showed it to the nurse. "We're with the Gotham police."

The nurse frowned. "Gotham is not exactly nearby, officer."

"We understand that, Miss, but we have reason to believe that one of the doctors here had treated a suspect." Helen explained.

The nurse began to smile again. "Which doctor?"

"Doctor Taylor." Helen said.

"You're in luck, he's on call today. Of course, he always insists on being here to do what he can. The poor man is nearing 70, he should take it easy."

"Where is he?" Gerard asked.

The nurse pointed to a plump man with thin gray hair, an even grayer mustache, and the typical white coat. Gerard and Helen thanked the nurse and approached Doctor Taylor who was just putting some charts into a slot.

"Doctor Nicholas Taylor?" Helen asked.

"Yes?"

"Doctor Taylor, I'm Gerard Stephens and this is my partner, Helen Coleman. We work for the Gotham City Police."

"What is this about?" Doctor Taylor asked.

"Sir, according to a news article dated in 1987, you treated a sixteen-year-old patient with slits on his cheeks." Helen said.

"I remember it well. It was a miracle that boy survived. I was so afraid of how much blood he was losing."

"What do you remember about that case?" Gerard asked.

"Well, the boy was in a great amount of pain. He was barely conscious, but he was alert enough to answer my questions. Never gave me his name, but told that "Mickey was being bad. He wanted to kill me." And then, he fainted and was kept overnight for observation before his mother or some other female relative picked him up from the hospital."

"Do you remember that woman's name?" Helen asked.

"I believe her name was Carly or Carrie. She didn't bother with a last name. She desperately wanted to get the boy out of here."

"Thank you for your help, Doctor Taylor." Gerard said.

Gerard and Helen left the hospital and went to a hot dog stand across the street for lunch. They discussed what they learned as they walked down the street, hotdogs in hand.

"It's not much to go on, Coleman." Gerard said.

Helen sighed. "I know."

"How are you even sure this boy was The Joker?"

"Because I saw the article. I saw his picture. You can't forget a face like The Joker's. You won't believe how many times I've tried."

"All right. So, we know he was sixteen when he got the scars, someone named Mickey tried to kill him, and The Joker was picked up from the hospital when someone named Carla or Carrie asked for his release."

Helen shrugged. "I guess we better find this Mickey, or better yet the woman that took The Joker home from the hospital."

Gerard nodded in agreement. When a cold wind blew by, Helen hugged herself. Gerard stopped, set his hotdog down on top of a trash can, and put his coat around Helen.

"Thanks."

"Wait till you've seen how bad an early winter can be in Gotham." Gerard said.


End file.
